Restore Travel Rights for Capable Woman with Down Syndrome

By Liz Mellem

Target: Joseph Nugent, Head of the Irish Passport Office

Goal: Stop the Irish Passport Office from discriminating against people with disabilities

Pauline Conboy is a 46-year-old Irish woman with Down syndrome who has been stripped of her passport and right to travel because of her disability. Despite having traveled internationally in the past, Conboy’s passport was seized after a report was filed, although Conboy and her family have not had access to the secret report or its contents. Please sign this petition and demand that Pauline Conboy’s passport be reinstated so she may travel to the United States to be with her family.

Pauline Conboy’s mother provided the support she needed to manage the symptoms of her Down syndrome until April 2012 when she passed away. Since then Conboy has been fighting the Irish Passport Office to have her passport reinstated, thereby allowing her to go to Florida and live with family. Conboy has traveled internationally in the past and was shocked when her passport was revoked based on a secret report, of which Conboy and her family have still not seen.

Conboy’s family has traveled to Ireland to be with her and help her navigate the passport issue; however, even with the extra support, the Passport Office is coming up with more requirements. It is now requiring 46-year-old Conboy to have a legal guardian in order to have her passport reinstated. The Irish Passports Act of 2008 allows, not requires, people with disabilities to duly authorize a third party to fill out and sign the passport application form. Conboy did so and has still not received her passport.

People with disabilities are entitled to the same international travel rights as any one else. It is doing Conboy more injustice and potential harm to keep her in Ireland without the support she needs, than allowing her to be with her family in Florida. Conboy took her story to the internet by writing her own petition trying to shine light on the incident and demand restoration of her rights. An eloquent petition on an international website is garnering the support she was hoping for, but she is still without a passport.

If the Irish Passport Office is going to refuse someone the right to a passport they must explain why and provide a way around the issue. Conboy is a victim of discrimination and needs help in advocating for the rights she deserves. Please sign this petition and show support for Pauline Conboy and her right to travel.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Nugent,

Irish citizen Pauline Conboy has been refused the right to travel by the Irish Passport Office by revoking her passport based on a secret report she has not been allowed to access. Conboy has Down syndrome and is trying to go to Florida to live with her family and receive the support she needs. Please reinstate her passport and stop discriminating against people with disabilities.

Conboy and her family have tried to work with the Irish Passport Office by designating a guardian for her, despite the fact that she does not need one and has never had one. She has traveled internationally in the past without issue and is dumbfounded by this blatant act of discrimination and injustice. Her family from Florida has traveled to Ireland to escort her on her travels and still she has not received her passport. Despite her disease, Conboy is a fully functioning member of society with the same rights as any Irish traveler.

Stop discriminating against people with disabilities and reinstate Pauline Conboy’s passport thereby allowing her to access the support she needs.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: businessandleadership via Yahoo